WASHINGTON — Daniel J. Sullivan, the independent Alaska Senate candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan, remained missing on Election Day as President Trump accused him of committing a “criminal act.”
While serious candidates typically stump for votes in the final hours of the midterm election, the mysterious Sullivan was not holding campaign events — and was nowhere to be found.
“Decoy Dan,” a retired school teacher, was recruited to run by the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, the New York Times reported last week, prompting a Justice Department investigation and DOJ litigation to stall certification of the election results if Peltola wins.
Sullivan left his small hometown of Petersburg last Monday, CBS News reported, with a former student spotting him on a flight to Anchorage.
He did not respond to an email or text message from The Post on Tuesday. His voicemail played a lengthy Halloween-themed message.
Alaska has ranked-choice voting, which could protract tabulations if there isn’t a clear winner.
Although voters could in theory vote for both Sullivans, with the long-shot candidate’s votes being reallocated to the Republican through the ranked-choice process, GOP leaders are concerned about losing any votes with polls showing Peltola narrowly ahead or tied with the Republican.
“It’s a total fraud. It’s a fraud on the voters. And it’s a criminal act,” Trump said Tuesday morning in an interview with “Fox & Friends.”
There are four candidates who will appear on the ballot. A sample form showsthat Sen. Sullivan is identified as the incumbent and a Republican; Peltola is identified as a Democrat; and the other Sullivan has no party label.
In a further twist, the fourth candidate, drywall contractor Gerald Heikes, is identified as a Republican.
Heikes told the Times that he was recruited “by a guy from the Midwest” who told him, “Hey, if you go and file to run for Senate, we’ll back you — we can’t give you money or anything, but we’ll make things happen for you.”
Concern about the lesser-known Sullivan and Heikes siphoning votes may be well-founded. The state’s Aug. 18 jungle primary, which featured candidates of all party affiliations, saw Daniel J. Sullivan take 2.5% of the vote and Heikes 1.1%, with both advancing to the general election.
The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Peltola leading the general election contest by 1 percentage point.
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